the swedish truth
Hi There :P In this post I've thought to smash all of you're preconceivied picture of sweden, maybe not "smash" but I'll at least give it a try to explain what's true and what's wrong about Sweden :P So you can get a correct picture of sweden to your project :P
All swedes are blond?
This is a true myth and it's really not true :P The haircolors in sweden varies and we have brunettes and black hairy people in sweden, it's a real mixture :) .
All swedes are wealthy
I don't know why everyone is believing that but it's not correct. Sweden is a reasonable economy and quite small amount of poor people if you look at the big picture, but that doesn't mean that everybody in sweden is rich. It's not that unusual that in some school class it's kids with old and inherited clothes from thier older siblings because thier parents can't make enough money. Then the povery and unemployment is biggest in the immigrant areas and theese areas also has more criminality as well. Examples for such an are is Rosengård, in Malmö and Rinkeby, Stockholm and in theese areas most of the people hasn't it too luxury at home or a good economy.
This is a video from the are Rosengård in Malmö and it's a huge immigrant area in sweden.
All swedes are goodlooking
I have to really concentrate me to not laugh about this, I mean this is so not true and I don't know how anyone can think that everyone in a country of nine million people (okay it's not that much but anyway) are beatiful, wake up people, it's not like that ;)
More about Sweden and immigrants
A thing that you could notice if you watched the video above, is that it's growing muslim or other religion influence in Sweden and these days it has become sort of a problem here and the immigrantion is a hot topic right know.
It's swedes that are rasists and new-nazists that want immigrants out of sweden to preserve sweden swedish and it's people in sweden that are friendly to immigrants and just want immigrants who are causes damage to the society, like criminal actions (and like the video), riot and violence. So it's people of both sides and the question what to do to prevent that areas like Rosengård not turns liket he one in the video is still unanswered.
The last year when it was selection (time for swedes to vote for which party who's going to rule sweden) to which party is going to "rule" sweden it was a party named Sverigedemokraterna and they had only one thing they wanted to contribute with, they wanted to stop the immigration and more or less get rid of other immigrants from sweden. But they didn't won but they got one mandate in the parlimentary and it takes alot of votes from the swedish people to get that, but today they don't rule anything or makes decisions about sweden because they always get voted down by the bigger parties and they don't support thiers suggestions, luckily that. But you can uderstand that the immigration is a very hot and sensetive question that always nowdays leads to lively debattes in sweden and a big society issue.
That was all I had to say in this post cya:P
All swedes are blond?
This is a true myth and it's really not true :P The haircolors in sweden varies and we have brunettes and black hairy people in sweden, it's a real mixture :) .
All swedes are wealthy
I don't know why everyone is believing that but it's not correct. Sweden is a reasonable economy and quite small amount of poor people if you look at the big picture, but that doesn't mean that everybody in sweden is rich. It's not that unusual that in some school class it's kids with old and inherited clothes from thier older siblings because thier parents can't make enough money. Then the povery and unemployment is biggest in the immigrant areas and theese areas also has more criminality as well. Examples for such an are is Rosengård, in Malmö and Rinkeby, Stockholm and in theese areas most of the people hasn't it too luxury at home or a good economy.
This is a video from the are Rosengård in Malmö and it's a huge immigrant area in sweden.
All swedes are goodlooking
I have to really concentrate me to not laugh about this, I mean this is so not true and I don't know how anyone can think that everyone in a country of nine million people (okay it's not that much but anyway) are beatiful, wake up people, it's not like that ;)
More about Sweden and immigrants
A thing that you could notice if you watched the video above, is that it's growing muslim or other religion influence in Sweden and these days it has become sort of a problem here and the immigrantion is a hot topic right know.
It's swedes that are rasists and new-nazists that want immigrants out of sweden to preserve sweden swedish and it's people in sweden that are friendly to immigrants and just want immigrants who are causes damage to the society, like criminal actions (and like the video), riot and violence. So it's people of both sides and the question what to do to prevent that areas like Rosengård not turns liket he one in the video is still unanswered.
The last year when it was selection (time for swedes to vote for which party who's going to rule sweden) to which party is going to "rule" sweden it was a party named Sverigedemokraterna and they had only one thing they wanted to contribute with, they wanted to stop the immigration and more or less get rid of other immigrants from sweden. But they didn't won but they got one mandate in the parlimentary and it takes alot of votes from the swedish people to get that, but today they don't rule anything or makes decisions about sweden because they always get voted down by the bigger parties and they don't support thiers suggestions, luckily that. But you can uderstand that the immigration is a very hot and sensetive question that always nowdays leads to lively debattes in sweden and a big society issue.
That was all I had to say in this post cya:P
some Swedish Rock ;)
Hi, here comes some music that I really like and first of all I'm into rock so you will hear and read about swedish rock in this post.
Let's getting started with a really popular band and their from sweden of course :) no fence but theese guys has been playing for a long time and their are famous around Europe to so thier just not popular in Sweden and the band is In Flames and thier music is more metal than only rock and according to me because they has thier own special sound and a specied nish or style to all the songs they make, no song is similar to another band and that's why I like them I guess and the songs are really amazing btw ;P I can post thier most popular songs :P
Antother swedish rockband I strongly recommend you all is Bullet for my Valentine they are quite famous in the rest of Europe and even the USA and Austrailia. This band plays mostly metal but they also has some really good calm-down tracks too so I'll post them and the band has it's own style, but they don't really have thier own rock-sound (like in flames has), I think thier sounds is a bit similar to swedish rock generally but I started to listen to them when I was ten years old or something, so that's why I'm listenting to them and sometimes the has good and meaningful lyrics, but this is not in all songs unfortunately.
Here are some songs from Bullet for my valentine
This is a song has become one of my favorites and I really like it because it's starts with a low tempo and then accelerates into real rock somewhere in the middle :P
Dead by April is a relatively new band from Gothenburg and had it's real breakthrough in 2009 and it wasn't until then they released thier first album, but it became a huge success and in a few months everybody knew who they were. The reason why they had such a breakthrough is becauase thier song named Losing You was an intro to a popular tv-show in sweden and therefore became swedish celebreties in such short time :P But this band is only famous in sweden and not the rest of the world so just swedish rock :P .
Thier breakthrough-song a must hear!
That was the most of it I believe but I can finish everything with telling you that Rock is not the most popular music in sweden anymore it's more R'NB and Pop from the USA or some other pop-soul-music that the most swedish people are listenening to but to me all these pop songs from USA sounds the same, okay Rihanna and lady gaga is a few standing out and gives some extra but the rest sounds the same to me and the lyrics don't say much more than shala-tralla-pling-plong it's only a clatshi tune, naja.
This is Swedens contribution to the annual Euro Vision Song Contest - It's a big contest there mostly every european country has it's own contribution competing against each other.
Peronaly I think this is a ridiculous song and it's just not good enough :P
Ohhh a almost forgot :P I only have to give you a last recommendation about rock, but this isn't a swedish band it's a finnish band called HIM but they are know over europe, USA and in many other countries it's an old Rockband and thier music is really special, the call thier musicstyle Love Metal and it's a very unique style of music and thier lyrics is reallty good but deep and meaningful too :P So recommending it :P
and just one more :P
Let's getting started with a really popular band and their from sweden of course :) no fence but theese guys has been playing for a long time and their are famous around Europe to so thier just not popular in Sweden and the band is In Flames and thier music is more metal than only rock and according to me because they has thier own special sound and a specied nish or style to all the songs they make, no song is similar to another band and that's why I like them I guess and the songs are really amazing btw ;P I can post thier most popular songs :P
Antother swedish rockband I strongly recommend you all is Bullet for my Valentine they are quite famous in the rest of Europe and even the USA and Austrailia. This band plays mostly metal but they also has some really good calm-down tracks too so I'll post them and the band has it's own style, but they don't really have thier own rock-sound (like in flames has), I think thier sounds is a bit similar to swedish rock generally but I started to listen to them when I was ten years old or something, so that's why I'm listenting to them and sometimes the has good and meaningful lyrics, but this is not in all songs unfortunately.
Here are some songs from Bullet for my valentine
This is a song has become one of my favorites and I really like it because it's starts with a low tempo and then accelerates into real rock somewhere in the middle :P
Dead by April is a relatively new band from Gothenburg and had it's real breakthrough in 2009 and it wasn't until then they released thier first album, but it became a huge success and in a few months everybody knew who they were. The reason why they had such a breakthrough is becauase thier song named Losing You was an intro to a popular tv-show in sweden and therefore became swedish celebreties in such short time :P But this band is only famous in sweden and not the rest of the world so just swedish rock :P .
Thier breakthrough-song a must hear!
That was the most of it I believe but I can finish everything with telling you that Rock is not the most popular music in sweden anymore it's more R'NB and Pop from the USA or some other pop-soul-music that the most swedish people are listenening to but to me all these pop songs from USA sounds the same, okay Rihanna and lady gaga is a few standing out and gives some extra but the rest sounds the same to me and the lyrics don't say much more than shala-tralla-pling-plong it's only a clatshi tune, naja.
This is Swedens contribution to the annual Euro Vision Song Contest - It's a big contest there mostly every european country has it's own contribution competing against each other.
Peronaly I think this is a ridiculous song and it's just not good enough :P
Ohhh a almost forgot :P I only have to give you a last recommendation about rock, but this isn't a swedish band it's a finnish band called HIM but they are know over europe, USA and in many other countries it's an old Rockband and thier music is really special, the call thier musicstyle Love Metal and it's a very unique style of music and thier lyrics is reallty good but deep and meaningful too :P So recommending it :P
and just one more :P
sports among swedes
Heey :p Just want to tell you about the most popular sports in sweden and maybee I can write about some other sports you can try out here too.
Okay starts with the most popular sport then :P. It's football, Soccer whatever you call it and it's no doubt there. It's the biggest and most popular of all sports in Sweden, mostly every cities, villages and smaller towns has a footballfield and a footballclub so it's can be played everywere in sweden, otherwise it feels like that at least :). Other popular sports over here is Ice-hockey, basket-ball, floorball, skiing and handball, these sports are the second most popular and I should say that it's the ball games that is dominating in Sweden, it really is. But we have some Asian influence (can I call it that :) ?) it has become increasingly common whith combat sports like, karate, ju-jitsu, Taekwondo, Kick-boxing and MMA, I don't know if the last one if from Asia anyway the post continues :P.
I rather doing combatsports and not a really big fan of football, but I've played it for a couple of years in my earlier years but lost the interest in Socker so I tried Ju-jitsu instead and found that really intresting and since then I have tried a few more, Kickboxing and MMA, more specifically :P
A really popular activity for swedes doing on their spare-time and christmas holidays is skiing :P. I goes snowboarding myself mostly every year to Austria with my one-year older cousins and it's really nice and fun to just go snowboarding the whole day in thoose high mountains and in the night go to a club and just have fun all night, it's really enjoying :P .
So some finishing words to this Post, Best regards to all of you and byee for now :P
Okay starts with the most popular sport then :P. It's football, Soccer whatever you call it and it's no doubt there. It's the biggest and most popular of all sports in Sweden, mostly every cities, villages and smaller towns has a footballfield and a footballclub so it's can be played everywere in sweden, otherwise it feels like that at least :). Other popular sports over here is Ice-hockey, basket-ball, floorball, skiing and handball, these sports are the second most popular and I should say that it's the ball games that is dominating in Sweden, it really is. But we have some Asian influence (can I call it that :) ?) it has become increasingly common whith combat sports like, karate, ju-jitsu, Taekwondo, Kick-boxing and MMA, I don't know if the last one if from Asia anyway the post continues :P.
I rather doing combatsports and not a really big fan of football, but I've played it for a couple of years in my earlier years but lost the interest in Socker so I tried Ju-jitsu instead and found that really intresting and since then I have tried a few more, Kickboxing and MMA, more specifically :P
A really popular activity for swedes doing on their spare-time and christmas holidays is skiing :P. I goes snowboarding myself mostly every year to Austria with my one-year older cousins and it's really nice and fun to just go snowboarding the whole day in thoose high mountains and in the night go to a club and just have fun all night, it's really enjoying :P .
So some finishing words to this Post, Best regards to all of you and byee for now :P
youths and druugs
Hello again :P I've heard you guys wanted to know some more about how common drugs and alcohol is in the swedish society nowdays and what kind of rules and laws we have against it.
I must say that alcohol is the biggest and most used intoxicant by youths theese days and I don't really don't know why, it's easier to get alcohol than drugs but drugs is not that hard to get, maybe it's the price is too high?The youths these days has the knowledge of which harm the drugs does to you? I'm not sure but I think also that drugs is relative new to sweden is not a part of the culture like in mexico or somewhere else where the drugs are popular and that can contribute with it's low level of usage. Here in sweden the traditional intoxicant is alcohol and I maybe mostly of the swedes are satisfied with that? I can't really find a better way or another way to explain why there arn't so much swedes out there doing drugs.
Sure it's maybe someone in every school calss that has tried some light drug like hash or Marijana or something else similar to that no surprise about that but I don't think that it's so many youths that gets stuck in an addiction because of these light drugs.
And the penalty for using or holding Maja and hash can be a couple of months in prison, that depends of course how much drugs you have and so on. If you're under fiftheen (fiftheen is the required age for being prosecuted in the trail) and get arrested for possesing drugs they send you to juvenile or if you just tested a small amount one time it could end up in several meetings with the social services and you're parents has to take part too. This is to make sure this don't happens again.
If you get caught by the police with alcohol and/or completely wasted they will ake you're alcohol and pour it out just like that. If you're under fiftheen you will be taken to the hospital or directly home(it depends on your condition) and then warn your parents and the police could also report it to the social services and in that case you have to go with your parents to regularly meetings with the social services. If the case is that you're above fiftheen you can be sent to the police station (this is normaly if your behaviour is bad and agressive) and reported to the police for agressivnes and drunkenness in public or something like that I believe. Otherwise if you're only to wasted to stand up you gets to spend the night in a detox cell.
The age of buying alcohol in liqour stores is twenty years old, but you're allowed to drink at bars, clubs when you're eighteen years old.
The swedish police.
I must say that alcohol is the biggest and most used intoxicant by youths theese days and I don't really don't know why, it's easier to get alcohol than drugs but drugs is not that hard to get, maybe it's the price is too high?The youths these days has the knowledge of which harm the drugs does to you? I'm not sure but I think also that drugs is relative new to sweden is not a part of the culture like in mexico or somewhere else where the drugs are popular and that can contribute with it's low level of usage. Here in sweden the traditional intoxicant is alcohol and I maybe mostly of the swedes are satisfied with that? I can't really find a better way or another way to explain why there arn't so much swedes out there doing drugs.
Sure it's maybe someone in every school calss that has tried some light drug like hash or Marijana or something else similar to that no surprise about that but I don't think that it's so many youths that gets stuck in an addiction because of these light drugs.
And the penalty for using or holding Maja and hash can be a couple of months in prison, that depends of course how much drugs you have and so on. If you're under fiftheen (fiftheen is the required age for being prosecuted in the trail) and get arrested for possesing drugs they send you to juvenile or if you just tested a small amount one time it could end up in several meetings with the social services and you're parents has to take part too. This is to make sure this don't happens again.
If you get caught by the police with alcohol and/or completely wasted they will ake you're alcohol and pour it out just like that. If you're under fiftheen you will be taken to the hospital or directly home(it depends on your condition) and then warn your parents and the police could also report it to the social services and in that case you have to go with your parents to regularly meetings with the social services. If the case is that you're above fiftheen you can be sent to the police station (this is normaly if your behaviour is bad and agressive) and reported to the police for agressivnes and drunkenness in public or something like that I believe. Otherwise if you're only to wasted to stand up you gets to spend the night in a detox cell.
The age of buying alcohol in liqour stores is twenty years old, but you're allowed to drink at bars, clubs when you're eighteen years old.
The swedish police.
Swedish Traditions and feasts (Part 2)
Hi, I'm back again and posting the rest of our Swedish traditions and feasts :P Enjoy reading.
Christmas
December is the month of the christmans :P It's the month when christmas decorations adorn and light up the streets, shopwindows and malls.
Here we have our christmas eve in the twentyfourth of december.
Christmas is celebrated and it has become a tradition in Sweden because of the christanity, celebrating that Jesus is born. So the church has a bit more activities these days, but as I wrote before, there's not so many people in sweden that are true and believing christs anymore.
The Cristamas Eve
A swedish christmas eve is the time for handing out presents that been under the christmas tree (yes swedes has a decorated tree inside the house :) ) during the night to our family members (christmas here is celebrated with our family and close relatives) and kids believes that the santa claus who came through the chimney has dropped of presents, it's a classical tale that every parent tells thier kids.
Mostly all swedes are watching Donald Duck, the special christmas eve-programe on the tv, this is strongly a tradition.
We are eating a bit extraordinary during the cristmas eve, we have something that is called "Julbord" , christmas smorgordsbord, believe it's really swedish, it's an very old swedish tradition anyway :P and on this christmas smorgosbord it's plenty of dishes and different type of food, it's basically a real mix, we have meatballs, swedish dumplings, potato gratin and a special christmas ham served with mustard :P .
Christmas Tree The Swedish Julbord :P Stockhols harbour at night during christmas :P
Okay now we are leaving christmas and I thouht I could mention how we Swedes are celebrating The New Year and the New Years Eve :P
New Years Eve!
This feast can be discribed were short - Party! This night, the 31 of december (the last day of december) mostly everone is partying and it's common that families invites friends to eat a good dinner/supper and then drink some champagne (or other alcohol) and fire off fireworks, firecrackers :P at midnight.
To young people New years eve are connected with party and alcohol, this is not unusual to se drunken fiftheen years old people out in parks or streets drunk, so the swedish police often has alot to do to arrest all these underage-drunken people. According to the swedish law it's only legal to consume alcohol if you're eighteen and above, but family members and local dealers buys from the liquid store and sells it to teenagers on the street, that's a growing problem in sweden.
The Cinnamon Bun's (Kanelbulle) Day:P
I think the cinnamon bun is typical swedish and here in sweden is has it's own day :P It's not realy a feast but it's marked out in our calendar so i post it because of that :P. This day is not realy celebrated, swedes maybe eats a cinnamon bun more this day than usual it's not more than that :P The cinnamon bun, is a wheat bun filled with some sort of thinn cinnamon-filling and topped with granulated sugar, Mums :P It's very usual here in sweden and you can have it in any cafe so just try it out :P
So I think that was the most of our feasts and our typical swedish traditions :P
Cyaa Later Byee :)
Christmas
December is the month of the christmans :P It's the month when christmas decorations adorn and light up the streets, shopwindows and malls.
Here we have our christmas eve in the twentyfourth of december.
Christmas is celebrated and it has become a tradition in Sweden because of the christanity, celebrating that Jesus is born. So the church has a bit more activities these days, but as I wrote before, there's not so many people in sweden that are true and believing christs anymore.
The Cristamas Eve
A swedish christmas eve is the time for handing out presents that been under the christmas tree (yes swedes has a decorated tree inside the house :) ) during the night to our family members (christmas here is celebrated with our family and close relatives) and kids believes that the santa claus who came through the chimney has dropped of presents, it's a classical tale that every parent tells thier kids.
Mostly all swedes are watching Donald Duck, the special christmas eve-programe on the tv, this is strongly a tradition.
We are eating a bit extraordinary during the cristmas eve, we have something that is called "Julbord" , christmas smorgordsbord, believe it's really swedish, it's an very old swedish tradition anyway :P and on this christmas smorgosbord it's plenty of dishes and different type of food, it's basically a real mix, we have meatballs, swedish dumplings, potato gratin and a special christmas ham served with mustard :P .
Christmas Tree The Swedish Julbord :P Stockhols harbour at night during christmas :P
Okay now we are leaving christmas and I thouht I could mention how we Swedes are celebrating The New Year and the New Years Eve :P
New Years Eve!
This feast can be discribed were short - Party! This night, the 31 of december (the last day of december) mostly everone is partying and it's common that families invites friends to eat a good dinner/supper and then drink some champagne (or other alcohol) and fire off fireworks, firecrackers :P at midnight.
To young people New years eve are connected with party and alcohol, this is not unusual to se drunken fiftheen years old people out in parks or streets drunk, so the swedish police often has alot to do to arrest all these underage-drunken people. According to the swedish law it's only legal to consume alcohol if you're eighteen and above, but family members and local dealers buys from the liquid store and sells it to teenagers on the street, that's a growing problem in sweden.
The Cinnamon Bun's (Kanelbulle) Day:P
I think the cinnamon bun is typical swedish and here in sweden is has it's own day :P It's not realy a feast but it's marked out in our calendar so i post it because of that :P. This day is not realy celebrated, swedes maybe eats a cinnamon bun more this day than usual it's not more than that :P The cinnamon bun, is a wheat bun filled with some sort of thinn cinnamon-filling and topped with granulated sugar, Mums :P It's very usual here in sweden and you can have it in any cafe so just try it out :P
So I think that was the most of our feasts and our typical swedish traditions :P
Cyaa Later Byee :)
Delicious Sweden ;)
Hi again ;) I thought you guys want to know something about the swedish food-culture, which small goods that are so much swedish it can be ? :P I've listed some goodies that are traditional swedish dishes and drinks and these are still popular nowdays, so if you're planning to visit Sweden and want to try some swedish potluck you can check out this list first :P .
1. Mashed potatoes with meatballs - Sweden are famous for it's meatballs and it's simply meat or minced meat rolled into balls, mashed potatoes are what it sounds like ;P This tastes really good with lingon-berry jam.
2. Lingon-Berry-Jam - Wow, It almost can't be more swedish now huh :P But Lingon is very famous in other countries and it's very much of it here in the swedish forests and it tastes good but something you only eat with something else, you don't eat it as it is :P
3. Swedish Crackers (crispbread) - A thinn and hard sandwich :P Think hard bread as a cracker made of ryo or wheat. Then some butter and ham or turkey on it that is a really good sandwich :P.
4. Dumplings - It's called "kroppkakor" in Sweden and it's a funny story beacuse it's not normaly eaten in the north or southest parts of Sweden, just the area between the southest and the middle parts of Sweden. I'm from Småland (a area in Sweden in the height of Öland) myself and it's located there and I've eaten dumplings and it's very common in småland actually :P. Now to what it really is, it's a ball made of raw grated potatoedough and inside of it it's spiced pork meat. You also have to have Lingonberry-jam and unwhipped cream to this dish :p .
5. Drinking alot of Milk - Milk is a very popular drink here in Sweden, you often has it to breakfast, lunch dinner and/or supper :P it's like a main or standard drink here, it's common anyway. Milk is also a very high-consumed drink in the swedish schools :P .
Making chocolate whith milk in it as Milkchocolate is also a typcical swedish thing too I believe, Marabou is a very well-know trademark that makes really good milkchocolate here so that's strongly recommended to try :) .
6. Västerbotten-cheese - A very appreciated cheese here in sweden by tourists and other no-swedish people :)
7. Crayfish - I mentioned this in the previous blog and it's really swedish so I just have to put it here :P It's a must-taste if visiting sweden :P It's like samll little lobsters naw :)
And now some pics of all this small goods :P Mmmhmm haha :P
1. Mashed potatoes with meatballs - Sweden are famous for it's meatballs and it's simply meat or minced meat rolled into balls, mashed potatoes are what it sounds like ;P This tastes really good with lingon-berry jam.
2. Lingon-Berry-Jam - Wow, It almost can't be more swedish now huh :P But Lingon is very famous in other countries and it's very much of it here in the swedish forests and it tastes good but something you only eat with something else, you don't eat it as it is :P
3. Swedish Crackers (crispbread) - A thinn and hard sandwich :P Think hard bread as a cracker made of ryo or wheat. Then some butter and ham or turkey on it that is a really good sandwich :P.
4. Dumplings - It's called "kroppkakor" in Sweden and it's a funny story beacuse it's not normaly eaten in the north or southest parts of Sweden, just the area between the southest and the middle parts of Sweden. I'm from Småland (a area in Sweden in the height of Öland) myself and it's located there and I've eaten dumplings and it's very common in småland actually :P. Now to what it really is, it's a ball made of raw grated potatoedough and inside of it it's spiced pork meat. You also have to have Lingonberry-jam and unwhipped cream to this dish :p .
5. Drinking alot of Milk - Milk is a very popular drink here in Sweden, you often has it to breakfast, lunch dinner and/or supper :P it's like a main or standard drink here, it's common anyway. Milk is also a very high-consumed drink in the swedish schools :P .
Making chocolate whith milk in it as Milkchocolate is also a typcical swedish thing too I believe, Marabou is a very well-know trademark that makes really good milkchocolate here so that's strongly recommended to try :) .
6. Västerbotten-cheese - A very appreciated cheese here in sweden by tourists and other no-swedish people :)
7. Crayfish - I mentioned this in the previous blog and it's really swedish so I just have to put it here :P It's a must-taste if visiting sweden :P It's like samll little lobsters naw :)
And now some pics of all this small goods :P Mmmhmm haha :P
Swedish Traditions and feasts (Part 1)
Hi now I thounght it would be fun to tell you about some of the Swedish traditions and feasts that are celebrated in Sweden :P
The Easter
Easter is celebrated here in Sweden in the month of April and the reason why is that we are celebrating and remembering the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, in Sweden the Christainity is the biggest and oldest religion.
But it's not common nowadays in Sweden to be a very religous and believing Christain, it becomes more rare year after year I believe. So persons that are not very religous just celebrating this with dressing up like little witches and goes around in the neighborhood and asks for candy and gives home-made eastern-cards, this is for the little children only like when they are around five years old. Alot of candy is also eaten during the easter.
Painting and eating more eggs than usual is something that becomes common during the easter as well.
Making homemade twigs is also very popular during the eastern to have on the table and and put outside the house.
But for a person that are religous and a true Christain they goes to church more ofthen as well to listen to the preaching priest during the eastern.
Homemade Twigs(called Påskris in Sweden) and an easter bunny with painted eggs.
Walpurgis Night (Day Eve)
This feast is celebrated the 30th of April and it's a tribute to the comming spring. Swedes celebrating this with doing a huge fire, a bonfire and then watch it burn and after the fire swedes usualy goes and partying with friends, the partying is very typical and usual amon swedish teenagers and sad but true it is quite often someone is harmed during this feast night of celebrating because of consuming too much alcohol.
A lighted bonfire.
The Midsummer
The tradition of celebrating midsummer takes place in the middle of the month of June and this is guaranteed celebrated everywhere in Sweden. It's a huge feast which celebrates with dancing around the midsummer-pole (shown in the picture) and then of course with a lot of partying with friends and relatives.
Young people and teenagers are often hanging around in parks and party with friends and other people, as on Day Eve this is a feast whith strong connection to party with alcohol to young people.
A midsommer pole, coverd with flowers
and leaves and dancing people.
Crayfish Party
This is not celebrated by every Swedish person, but it's very typcical for Sweden so I listed anyhow ;P .
It's in August you goes out on the lake with the boat ful of crayfish traps and places them out during daylight to then check on them by midnight and collect the crayfishes that walked in to the traps.
Then you cook the crayfishes alive with spices and the crabfishes shifts colour to red and dies. After that you eat them and it's popular in sweden to eat the cooked crayfishes with family and friends, we call it a "Kräftskiva" and it's very nice.
But if I relate to myself this is a family tradition and I've has as long as I can remember catched crayfishes and it's enjoying ;P .
But as I wrote before, celebrating this is very individual in sweden and is not celebrated by everybody.
Coocked Crayfishes.
That was all for now :P But keep reading my blog and have heads up for the continoued part (part 2) of swedish traditions ! Best Regards ;P / Martin ;P
The Easter
Easter is celebrated here in Sweden in the month of April and the reason why is that we are celebrating and remembering the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, in Sweden the Christainity is the biggest and oldest religion.
But it's not common nowadays in Sweden to be a very religous and believing Christain, it becomes more rare year after year I believe. So persons that are not very religous just celebrating this with dressing up like little witches and goes around in the neighborhood and asks for candy and gives home-made eastern-cards, this is for the little children only like when they are around five years old. Alot of candy is also eaten during the easter.
Painting and eating more eggs than usual is something that becomes common during the easter as well.
Making homemade twigs is also very popular during the eastern to have on the table and and put outside the house.
But for a person that are religous and a true Christain they goes to church more ofthen as well to listen to the preaching priest during the eastern.
Homemade Twigs(called Påskris in Sweden) and an easter bunny with painted eggs.
Walpurgis Night (Day Eve)
This feast is celebrated the 30th of April and it's a tribute to the comming spring. Swedes celebrating this with doing a huge fire, a bonfire and then watch it burn and after the fire swedes usualy goes and partying with friends, the partying is very typical and usual amon swedish teenagers and sad but true it is quite often someone is harmed during this feast night of celebrating because of consuming too much alcohol.
A lighted bonfire.
The Midsummer
The tradition of celebrating midsummer takes place in the middle of the month of June and this is guaranteed celebrated everywhere in Sweden. It's a huge feast which celebrates with dancing around the midsummer-pole (shown in the picture) and then of course with a lot of partying with friends and relatives.
Young people and teenagers are often hanging around in parks and party with friends and other people, as on Day Eve this is a feast whith strong connection to party with alcohol to young people.
A midsommer pole, coverd with flowers
and leaves and dancing people.
Crayfish Party
This is not celebrated by every Swedish person, but it's very typcical for Sweden so I listed anyhow ;P .
It's in August you goes out on the lake with the boat ful of crayfish traps and places them out during daylight to then check on them by midnight and collect the crayfishes that walked in to the traps.
Then you cook the crayfishes alive with spices and the crabfishes shifts colour to red and dies. After that you eat them and it's popular in sweden to eat the cooked crayfishes with family and friends, we call it a "Kräftskiva" and it's very nice.
But if I relate to myself this is a family tradition and I've has as long as I can remember catched crayfishes and it's enjoying ;P .
But as I wrote before, celebrating this is very individual in sweden and is not celebrated by everybody.
Coocked Crayfishes.
That was all for now :P But keep reading my blog and have heads up for the continoued part (part 2) of swedish traditions ! Best Regards ;P / Martin ;P
Swedes
Hi, I'm going to mention a few things that are typical things for Swedish persons to do, behavior and habits for example. :P
The swedish people
Swedes aren't often that outreached socially and that at least i think is a big difference from japanese people. This causes things like swedes don't use to speak to someone or socialize (communicate) whith people sitting next to them on the bus or the subway, I can't say that sweds are shy but for some reason we are very carefully with communicate with other people that we generally don't hanging out with. So if a swedish teenager keeps quiet when you're sitting next to him at the bus the cause is not he's rude to you :) .
The concept "Lagom"
Lagom is a concept that means not too much but not too little either and it's very common and used very often in Sweden. Why it's typical swedish I believe is that a swede is basiclly a bit afraid to let it go and just hit it, get loose and stand out from the crowd, I really don't now how to explain this one in a better way actually :P .
The blue eyed,busty blond girls
When I'm abroad I and talking to other people I often hears that Swedish girls are very beatiful with their blue eyes and the blond hair but it's not that every single swedish girl looks like this.
A warning sign! - A different kind of girls
But to be honest not every girl in Sweden looks like that and not every swedish girl is beatiful, but it is a special group of Sweds that want to look like this despite they has dark hair and brown eyes for example so they are bleaching thier hair almost pure white and uses blue contact lenses to look like this and they are called "fjortisar" here in Sweden and its mostly young teenagers 13-16 years old girls who does this and acts like they has no brain at all and does everything to be in centre, as publish half-naked pictures at themself on the webb or drinking heavily drunk at a random home-party and passes out. They also screams loudly at busses and public places, it can be very annoying, so don't get a shock if you come to sweden and sees THIS kind of swedish girls as well.
Another way to recognize them is to spot the very marked foundation line at the end of the neck :P Fjorisar always uses to much make-up too :P .
The swedish people
Swedes aren't often that outreached socially and that at least i think is a big difference from japanese people. This causes things like swedes don't use to speak to someone or socialize (communicate) whith people sitting next to them on the bus or the subway, I can't say that sweds are shy but for some reason we are very carefully with communicate with other people that we generally don't hanging out with. So if a swedish teenager keeps quiet when you're sitting next to him at the bus the cause is not he's rude to you :) .
The concept "Lagom"
Lagom is a concept that means not too much but not too little either and it's very common and used very often in Sweden. Why it's typical swedish I believe is that a swede is basiclly a bit afraid to let it go and just hit it, get loose and stand out from the crowd, I really don't now how to explain this one in a better way actually :P .
The blue eyed,busty blond girls
When I'm abroad I and talking to other people I often hears that Swedish girls are very beatiful with their blue eyes and the blond hair but it's not that every single swedish girl looks like this.
A warning sign! - A different kind of girls
But to be honest not every girl in Sweden looks like that and not every swedish girl is beatiful, but it is a special group of Sweds that want to look like this despite they has dark hair and brown eyes for example so they are bleaching thier hair almost pure white and uses blue contact lenses to look like this and they are called "fjortisar" here in Sweden and its mostly young teenagers 13-16 years old girls who does this and acts like they has no brain at all and does everything to be in centre, as publish half-naked pictures at themself on the webb or drinking heavily drunk at a random home-party and passes out. They also screams loudly at busses and public places, it can be very annoying, so don't get a shock if you come to sweden and sees THIS kind of swedish girls as well.
Another way to recognize them is to spot the very marked foundation line at the end of the neck :P Fjorisar always uses to much make-up too :P .
